The present invention relates to fire extinguishing systems, and more specifically, to systems and methods for an attitude insensitive high rate discharge extinguisher having gaseous and dry powder fire suppression agents.
Automatic Fire Extinguishing (AFE) systems deploy after a fire or explosion event has been detected. In some cases, AFE systems are deployed within a confined space such as the crew compartment of a military vehicle following an event. AFE systems typically use high speed Infra red (IR) and/or ultra violet (UV) sensors to detect the early stages of fire/explosion development. The AFE systems typically include a cylinder filled with an extinguishing agent, a fast acting valve and a nozzle, which enables rapid and efficient deployment of agent throughout the confined space. Conventional AFE systems are mounted upright within the vehicle to enable the entire contents to be deployed effectively at the extremes of tilt, roll and temperature experienced within military vehicles, for example. In order to maintain system efficacy, the nozzles are located such that they can provide an even distribution of the agent within the vehicle. For these types of systems this requirement can be met by adding a hose at the valve outlet which extends to the desired location within the vehicle. Though effective this measure adds an extra level of system complexity and therefore cost.
Several solutions exist that resolve the problems of a suppressor that is required to be mounted upright. For example, a pipe type extinguisher design can be mounted at any orientation within a vehicle and still provides an efficacious discharge of extinguishing agent against a vehicle fire or explosion challenge. The extinguisher would also work were the vehicle to assume any orientation prior to or during the incident. Rapid desorption of dissolved nitrogen (or other inert gas) from the fire extinguishing agent(s) forming a two phase mixture (e.g., a foam or mousse) substantially fills the volume within the extinguisher and causes the discharge of agent from the valve assembly. The formation of this two-phase mixture enables the fire extinguishing agent to be adequately discharged regardless of the extinguisher orientation. However, current solutions including the pipe design do not fully address attitude insensitive needs of confined spaces that experience the extremes of tilt, roll and temperature experienced within military vehicles.